Munitions Empire

Without a strong military of its own, merely driving wars with capital and connections ultimately led to Shireck's failure. It reacted too late and sluggishly, eventually providing the Great Tang Group with an opportunity to rise.

Another good example is the Dahua Empire, a history which Tang Mo has studied: "The Dahua Empire once had an enterprising spirit, but ultimately it became complacent and turned into what it is today. Do we really want to follow in their footsteps, only to be surpassed by others in the end?"

After the initial rise of the Dahua Empire, it also hoped to conquer the neighboring countries, but a series of minor setbacks made the Dahua Empire overly cautious.

In the end, the strategy of letting neighboring countries contain each other was cost-effective and quick to see results. After playing this a few times, the Dahua Empire stopped its expansion after getting the benefits it wanted.

With that revival ruler sending a princess to Shu Country and the news of his journey southward being exposed, the Dahua Empire's last effort also failed, and history has progressed to where it is today.

So when Tang Mo mentioned these anecdotes, the key generals who understood them started to take them very seriously. They had been groping in the dark without a clue, but now Tang Mo had pointed out the key, making them understand that sometimes wars must be fought by oneself.

Tang Mo, sitting at the head of the table, continued to speak: "We cannot be shortsighted, always looking at immediate benefits. We need to take a long view, carefully consider the overall benefit."

"We absolutely cannot become timid because of losses; that's wrong. We must face all challenges head-on, showing the enemy that we are unbeatable! Proxy wars may seem to have small losses, but the attitude alone has already put us at a disadvantage." His gaze swept toward his generals, and, to his relief, they did not avoid eye contact. Their eyes were still filled with the desire for victory and unwavering confidence that Tang Mo could lead them to it.

In Tang Mo's view, a military fearing war and afraid of casualties is already a sign of decay. If a military does not seek battle, does not crave war, then it is the failure of a nation's military.

A nation's military is like the sharp sword in a swordsman's hand. The swordsman may not draw the sword, but the sword itself must be sharp and must crave blood.

Whether to use the sword is the swordsman's decision, which has nothing to do with the sword itself; similarly, deciding whether to wage war is the will of a nation, and has nothing to do with the military itself—the military just needs to ensure it can fight and win.

The Tang Empire in another time and space, due to extensive use of mercenaries and the Foreign Legion, ultimately suffered frequent wars and the core military forces decayed, losing the ability to absolutely suppress the border army, and eventually lost absolute control over the surrounding regions, leading to an inevitable decline.

Similarly, Lighthouse Country, keen on fighting proxy wars and thinking money and aid could solve all problems, gradually became a proponent of minor wars, only capable of hitting below the belt and punching above the weak, neglecting its robust industrial strength.

There are far too many such examples, because in the short term, mercenary proxy wars are simply too tempting—low cost, quick results, and no blood of their own is spilled.

In such wars, the planners need not invest much; they only need to stand by yelling, toss a few coins to add to the atmosphere, and the opponents will fight among themselves, causing mutual attrition.

So as long as you maintain control over the narrative, lure the opponent with economic advantages, and subtly exert cultural influence, you can destroy the enemy's spirit and dull their physical edge. The cost of doing this is so low, it's practically winning without fighting.

But playing this game ultimately comes at a price, and it is that everyone who has played it feels it saves time and effort, seeming to make a fortune on paper.

The first to play this game brought endless pressure to the subsequent decision-makers: because the first person achieved the greatest results with the least cost, those who follow and cannot achieve the same seem incompetent.

Tang Mo does not want his generals to start focusing on this area because he does not wish for the Great Tang Empire to eventually follow in the footsteps of Lighthouse Country.

He hopes his troops are always ready for battle, always superior to the militaries of other nations, always daring to wage war, and always full of vigor.

"Relying on strategy to weaken the enemy is part of war, but it is not the main part; there's no doubt about that." He set the tone for his war efforts, clarifying that the means are just necessary steps, not the key to determining victory or defeat.

Tang Mo diverted his gaze from his generals and continued: "The Battle of Fengjiang is just a strategy to wear down the enemy. It's merely a prelude to our annexation of the Dahua Empire. Although effective, its emergence was not inevitable. Hoping for the enemy to make the first mistake so we can take advantage, expecting others to start fighting so we can wait and reap the benefits... This kind of thinking is fundamentally flawed."

As he spoke, he spread his hands: "Great Tang relies on its unmatched military power, not those petty tricks! Eating appetizers before the main course is fine, but if the whole table is filled with pickles and sweets, then we can't enjoy the meal! I hope you all understand this!"

"Regardless of whether the enemy makes mistakes or not, we have the capability to defeat them! This is what we must constantly pursue, constantly keep in mind, and always hold firmly in our hands!" He clenched his fist and raised his voice.

"Yes! Your Majesty!" Generals Luff, Strauss, and Bolton were the first to stand up, heads held high. The other generals also stood up, and the chant echoed in the meeting room: "Long live His Majesty The Emperor!"

"Go and prepare! Prepare for the next war! Prepare for all subsequent wars! Prepare to establish your merits with blood! To conquer! To save! For the glory of the Great Tang Empire to spread across the land, for the flag of the Great Tang Empire to cover the skies!" Tang Mo also stood up, energetically encouraging everyone present.

...

Ying Yue found that, compared to the wedding she had been looking forward to, His Majesty The Emperor of the Great Tang Empire seemed to be more enthusiastic about his work. He had endless tasks to handle every day, which was somewhat unfamiliar to Ying Yue.

In her view, a monarch of a country who is diligent like her father Ying Duo, is already a rare wise ruler, but she found that the Emperor of the Tang Empire seemed even busier.

She actually wanted to meet this future husband before the grand wedding, but all the meeting requests submitted by her, the Princess of Qin Country, failed.

It seemed that His Majesty The Emperor always had endless tasks: he had to handle a heap of state affairs every day, find time to draw and write books, as well as meet various Ministers, hold various meetings, and emergency meetings...

In addition, His Majesty had the habit of dining with family and Ministers, often keeping Ministers over for meals to discuss issues, so there wasn't even time to have a meal with Ying Yue.

What was most unexpected was that His Majesty was also a good family man. This somewhat surprised Ying Yue; she really hadn't guessed that Tang Mo would take time out to play games with his children or check their homework.

He really would look at his children's drawings and scribbles, watch their shaky handwriting, listen to their chirping and singing, and talk about the fun of catching crickets in the Forbidden City.

From any perspective, Tang Mo was a good man: Ying Yue was deeply loved by her father, but she had never enjoyed the treatment of Ying Duo's regular visits and companionship.

An Emperor is usually busy enough, and some trivial matters are simply overlooked. People who are around the Emperor are also used to this, and they do not complain about it.

But Tang Mo was different, he really did find time to accompany his family. This may also be another important reason why Tang Mo's three women have been getting along very well so far.

Today, Ying Yue finally got the chance to meet Tang Mo. Tang Mo wasn't avoiding intentionally; he really had no time recently.

Computer technology in the Great Tang Empire was advancing rapidly, which couldn't be achieved without Tang Mo's support and contributions. Compared to a woman he had never met, Tang Mo preferred to invest his efforts in the development of technologies that could influence the future direction of the world.

Moreover, the nuclear technology of the Great Tang Empire had reached a critical moment, which could produce that earth-shattering boom at any time.

Which of these matters wouldn't be more important than taking time to meet a woman? This had always been Tang Mo's belief, until he saw this woman from Qin Country at dinner time.

Tang Mo was shocked by her beauty for a moment: he had truly never seen such a stunning beauty before, as desirable as the exquisite food in front of him.

She was completely different from Alice in terms of style of beauty, and also not like Yue'er. How should it be described? Looking at Ying Yue in front of him, Tang Mo felt a familiar comfort.

Black hair, black eyes... If Tang Mo were to choose a wife in his past life, it should be someone exactly like this! She was perfect, perfectly like those female celebrities with whom Tang Mo had little interaction in his previous life.

Not those internet celebrities nor those with indistinguishable faces from cosmetic surgeries, but like those regal and endearingly beautiful women who appeared in TV dramas many years ago, full of an indescribably precious aura.

Frankly speaking, Tang Mo liked this kind of beauty, so it helped him accept the fact that there wasn't much affection between him and her, at least to some extent.

After all, it's a political marriage... Tang Mo thought silently to himself.

While Tang Mo was sizing up Ying Yue, Ying Yue was also observing Tang Mo. To be honest, the more she looked at him, the more satisfied she was: First of all, Tang Mo was very handsome...

There are always people who value looks, and a woman's first impression of a man is naturally his appearance. Tang Mo was handsome, which to Ying Yue, was a big... bonus point.

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Haven't finished dealing with family matters, the update is postponed by a day, will definitely make it up tomorrow, apologies.